Fritag Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 2 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: as it happens I have perfected a method that doesn’t involve PE Deleted to my taste - as ordered........ 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 Short update this evening, because I’m basically repeating last night - doing the second (& final) long range tanked aircraft. On a whim I thought I’d experiment with Uschi thread to see whether I can successfully hint at the straps on the tank. Yes, I know, insane. The scarier thing is that it seems to have worked... A domani Crisp 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 5 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: Yes, I know, insane. The scarier thing is that it seems to have worked... Fret ye not Crisp, insane is good here. You are quite clearly a natural. As for me, I fitted in perfectly and then there's @general melchett. I rest my case. Supportive of Mars 👽 1 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 Nice straps Crisp, and it's not even the weekend 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patmaquette Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 The aircraft are looking brilliant, Crisp. Have you tried fitting the tail wheel yet and checking the sit? A great build thread and I am following it with interest, Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted February 6, 2020 Author Share Posted February 6, 2020 4 minutes ago, patmaquette said: The aircraft are looking brilliant, Crisp. Have you tried fitting the tail wheel yet and checking the sit? A great build thread and I am following it with interest, Pat I haven’t tested the tail wheel yet, no - but you are right; I should. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 12 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: Yes, I know, insane. The scarier thing is that it seems to have worked... As Martian suggests, insanity does seem to be an admirable quality here, and in my case seems to grow with age, er i mean wisdom..... and remember, tomorrow never comes ..... Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Looking better and better, Crisp 13 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: A domani I suspect your Italian is way better than average... Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 I would never have believed a wire would 'do' the rigging in miniscule scale like this Amazing Crisp, top job Top man 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 19 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: On a whim I thought I’d experiment with Uschi thread to see whether I can successfully hint at the straps on the tank. I just spent about 10 minutes looking for the tank in that photo! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted February 6, 2020 Author Share Posted February 6, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: I haven’t tested the tail wheel yet, no - but you are right; I should. So I did; pretty decent, I think - possibly a smidgeon tail-high, but we’re talking minute differences; in real life it looks fine. You may be able to see that I have added a channel for the forward-firing machine gun on both aircraft, and that the wheeled version now mirrors its cousin’s tank straps. Note also dinky wee arrestor hook under the tail, just because I can. That’s both aircraft fitted with the long-range tank (2M of 810 NAS and 4L of 820 NAS) pretty much ready for primer, I think. I will probably add the distinctive Mk1 Stringbag oil breather on top of the nose, and obviously they’re going to need rigging (you might be able to see the drilled holes for the cabane struts) and manning up - but (apart from adding one undercarriage, obviously) they need some colour in their cheeks before much more gets bolted on. More soon Crisp Edited February 6, 2020 by Ex-FAAWAFU 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunzo Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Just out of interest what is the span of these weenie Swordfish models- around 40mm? Les 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelholic Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 (edited) I've just spent 40 minutes repeatedly putting the PE sides (4 parts) on a pair of 1/350 octo pom pom mounts and think they look rubbish. You on the other hand. Well Crisp I salute you! Tom I'm now going to see if I can bend the two kit cranes into something resembling cranes. Les, Yep your about spot on. Edited February 6, 2020 by Modelholic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted February 6, 2020 Author Share Posted February 6, 2020 33 minutes ago, gunzo said: Just out of interest what is the span of these weenie Swordfish models- around 40mm? Nothing much wrong with the inbuilt ruler in your eyes; what’s 1.39mm between friends? 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunzo Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Impressive les 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelholic Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Crisp, That's the bottom wing isn't the top wing slightly longer? Don't know what happened (maybe the Carpet Monsters are in a giving mood, hypnotised me and did it out of pity) I've two bits of brass that actually look like cranes! I'm well chuffed with m'self! 12 bends And minimal super glue! (And I've still got all my fingers and thumbs) RESULT Tom 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted February 6, 2020 Author Share Posted February 6, 2020 True; the top wing is a bit longer. Sorry for the Fake Noos! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xffw45343tg Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 36 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: Sorry for the Fake Noos! It's now to be spelled "FAYK" to help the hard of thinking, apparently. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 I thought the funnel was a masterpiece of micro-engineering, but with these you're clearly going beyond.... Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 11 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: That’s both aircraft fitted For reasons perhaps unfathomable Crisp, there is something deeply compelling about getting to watch you build a whole series of miniature Stringbags. Maybe because we're usually engaged in building single instances, or maybe the size, like observing someone put a watch together. Whatever the reason this is one of my favourite builds to turn to these days. When someone constructs an actual production line for their work, you know that they're not mucking about. Either that or Ark Royal was a lot narrower than I remember... 3 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted February 7, 2020 Author Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, TheBaron said: Either that or Ark Royal was a lot narrower than I remember... Controversial inter-war orange flight deck scheme, too. That’s the problem with interpreting B&W photographs . [Incidentally, I’ve been meaning to say... the random set of bollards / bitts that appears in the background of some photos us not destined to end up on a Swordfish. They fell off one of the starboard side hull openings when I was having a tidy up the other day, & I keep on forgetting to glue them back. And the moral is.... never tidy up, kids] Edited February 7, 2020 by Ex-FAAWAFU 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 13 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: And the moral is.... never tidy up, kids What, you found that out only now??? A man of your experience? (....yes, I am untidy...) Ciao 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 Amazing stuff Crisp. And I thought the Skeeter was tiny… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robgizlu Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 I absolutley agree - amazing stuff - The planes are going to look fantastic. I need to keep pinching myself to remind of the scale Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted February 7, 2020 Author Share Posted February 7, 2020 12 hours ago, giemme said: I thought the funnel was a masterpiece of micro-engineering, but with these you're clearly going beyond.... Thanks, Giorgio - and everyone. It’s a lot of tiny work - and so far I’ve only done 2 which will end up on the finished model (the two LR tank cabs), so have 13 more to do. But it’s surprisingly satisfying as an exercise in what’s possible (but also a lesson in how much difference even a small change makes in this scale). As I have said before, I think, the real point of spending so much time and effort on Stringbags with a wingspan of only 40mm is the fact that they are really the focal point of the entire scene that I have in my head. Models - particularly dioramas, and this is essentially going to be a diorama - blow me away when you can spend ages looking at them in detail, yet every time you look you find something new. I have referred to @andrewa‘s Hermes / Broadsword / Yarmouth on here before; that’s the benchmark for me, because it’s completely coherent and tells a story (quite apart from being stunningly executed); dozens and dozens of tiny details are there (in his case on 3 different ships close together), but not one of them looks incongruous and breaks the spell - “surely it wouldn’t have looked like that in real life...”. In my head, I know exactly how I want this to look in the end - still a l-o-o-ong way in the future, I fear. If I get it right it will tell a powerful story of 43 young men about to get airborne in truly hideous weather to attack the world’s most powerful battleship in slow, obsolescent biplanes. However good the aircraft models are, if there is no-one on the flight deck, or the bridge looks as though they’re on a gentle sleepy Summer cruise, or the ship’s weapons and directors are unmanned and all covered up, or the paintwork looks as though she was only launched the previous week, or even if there’s no lifebuoy sentry closed up or crashboat at immediate readiness... then it will just look silly. Hence ridiculously complex resin HACS director tubs a few pages ago (& I haven’t touched a single Pom-Pom yet...!), and flag lockers, and ages acquiring convincing-looking boats from Shapeways. But most of all, these 15 Stringbags are the whole point, so they have to be decent. All this effort will be worth it in the end. Equally importantly, it’s a lot of fun. 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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